When James Franklin and Penn State fell 24-30 to the Oregon Ducks in a double-overtime showdown, someone’s confidence remained unshakable. That’s none other than Franklin’s quarterback, Drew Allar. “It could be the best thing that’s happened for us, but we have to take the right approach this week,” the quarterback sounded confident. But maybe Allar, along with confidence, probably would have needed some luck to survive. The Nittany Lions’ face-off against the Northwestern Wildcats left a bitter aftertaste. Allar suffered what looked to be an ankle injury in the final minute. That’s not it. 

Here came a heartbreaking update from Franklin that no Penn State fans had imagined in their wildest dreams. “Yes, Drew will be done for the year,” the head coach made the announcement with a boulder over his heart. Fans still hoped against hope when the quarterback was being tended on the sideline. But they could already sense what waited for them when Allar was carted to the locker room. The words “done for the year” might be coming back to haunt the Penn State fans in their sleep.

Now, that’s not what the fans expected a quarterback’s fate to turn out to be, who had 147 yards this year with a longest run of 27 yards. And here came the grounding alert. With the Nittany Lions down 22–21 and the clock bleeding away, Franklin’s offense faced third-and-4 from their own 32-yard line. That’s when Allar took the snap, scanned the field, and, finding no one open, tucked it to run. 

With three minutes thirty-one seconds remaining, Allar was tackled and left tending to his ankle. The starter never returned, forcing freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer into the spotlight for a do-or-die fourth down to keep Penn State’s hopes alive, hardly knowing that his mate wouldn’t return to the field anytime soon. If Allar remains sidelined for the rest of the season, Grunkemeyer will have a task to try and rally a .500, unranked Penn State team in his first set of games as a starter. Now that’s not how Allar envisioned things.

Before injury came with one of the biggest plot twists, he completed 13 of 20 attempts for 137 yards and a 65 completion percentage. He started with an end-zone pick and finished with a lone rushing score, hardly knowing that it would turn out to be his first and last of the season. Now, is that the end for the Nittany Lions, who entered as the No.2 team with Natty dreams in their eyes? 

Joel Klatt’s early reminder for James Franklin’s better use of Drew Allar

Already, Allar ran low on confidence when he was asked about the Nittany Lions’ hope, a few weeks back. On October 4, analyst Mike Poorman had set up an interview with the Penn State quarterback. He dived straight into the question, the playoff conversation. The analyst gave a rundown of how it unfolded, “CFP? Postgame I asked Drew Allar, ‘Are you guys still in the hunt for the playoffs?’ He turned and asked me, ‘What do you think?’ ‘I don’t know,’ I said. To which he replied, ‘Yes.’”

However, that “yes” lacked that conviction. Justified. Allar and his team were still recovering from their ugly loss against the UCLA Bruins. By half-time, Franklin’s boys were throttled at 27-7. The worst part? Allar appeared to be a fish out of water. He went 19-of-26 for 200 yards, tossed two TDs, and threw no picks, plus led the team in rushing with 78 yards. But when your quarterback is your top rusher, it’s usually a glaring red flag.

Things have already turned sour for Franklin’s squad. Joel Klatt did not hold Allar responsible for their struggle. Rather, to him, it was the problem on Penn State’s part to have struggled to capitalize on a weapon like Allar. 

As Klatt said, “Penn State has all of these experienced players back, including Drew Allar, their quarterback, and they can’t win the football game. And that’s the alarming part for Penn State. And so, this is what I would say for Penn State is that you’ve got to have a clear-eyed evaluation. You’ve got to have some competitive integrity and evaluate yourself honestly. What is going wrong in these moments?” With Drew Allar out, James Franklin’s offense is suddenly looking toothless. What could possibly sting more?